St. Louis officer brags about spending 'annual Michael Brown bonus'

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A St. Louis County police officer’s comments are being investigated after he posted to social media about how he was spending his “annual Michael Brown bonus.”

Officer Todd J. “T.J.” Bakula appeared to post a photo of himself and his wife on Facebook, boasting about the extra money he’d earned while working overtime for the Mike Brown protests, reports The Guardian. The publication published a screenshot of the Facebook post, which is now deleted, as well as the entire account.

The one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death was last week, and with tensions still high in Ferguson, Missouri, protests have continued. Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014.

A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police confirmed to The Guardian that “Bakula is a patrolman with the St Louis County police department.”

“We understand the post is controversial,” the spokesperson said. “The St Louis County police department takes these allegations very serious in every case. The remarks on the Facebook page will be investigated by our department.”

St. Louis Business Journal reported in September 2014 that St. Louis County provided $2.5 million in overtime for police work for the Ferguson protests.